Substrate provided with an electronic device

ABSTRACT

A substrate provided with at least part of a system for the non-contact identification of articles, including at least one electronic device which includes an electromagnetic-wave transmission and reception device coupled with an electronic module making it possible to process received signals and to retransmit other signals. The substrate is based on cellulose fibers and the electronic device is inserted into the substrate. A process for manufacturing such a substrate is also disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a substrate provided with part of asystem for the non-contact identification of articles.

2. Discussion of the Invention

In order to locate and identify articles, it is known to associate themwith electronic devices called “electronic tags”.

Such a tag is provided with an electromagnetic-wave transmission andreception device coupled with an electronic module making it possible toprocess received signals and to retransmit other signals, especiallyincluding a message for identifying the tag, and therefore the articlewith which it is associated. Moreover, the system includes a readercomprising an electromagnetic-wave transmission/reception device so asto transmit the information between a data terminal and the saidelectronic tag.

The reader fulfils several functions and especially serves to:

transmit to the tag the energy needed for its operation, the tag havingno specific autonomous energy source;

transmit data from the terminal to the tag, this data being, whereappropriate, able to be written into a memory with which the tag isprovided;

receive data from the tag and specific to the latter, in particular forthe purpose of identifying it.

Until quite recently, it was satisfactory in most applications, forwhich an electronic tag of the abovementioned type was designed, to beable to read simultaneously a limited number (less than 10) tags in theinterrogation field.

Furthermore, the intended applications were the control of access to anarea, the monitoring of the access by persons or baggage to an area, thecounting of articles, especially for stock management, in a plant orindustrial area or else the recognition of passing objects, such as, forexample, cars at a motorway tollbooth.

To meet particular applications, in which a large number of tags have tobe read reliably, simultaneously and quickly, and data transmission mustbe possible either tag by tag or for the entire set of tags,improvements to the said tags have been made.

Such an improvement is described, for example, in French Patents FR2,741,978, FR 2,741,979 and FR 2,741,980. By virtue of this improvement,it is possible from now on to meet the aforementioned requirements for alower cost, the set of tags possibly being spread out within a largevolume, of the order of several m³.

Thus, for example, the monitoring, accounting and/or verification ofarticles purchased by a customer in a department store are now possible.The management of a storage area or of transport logistics is alsopossible.

Moreover, this functional improvement to electronic tags, which allowsthem to be tailored to very particular applications, has advantageouslybeen accompanied by a dimensional improvement.

This is because some tags have been miniaturized significantly so thatfrom now on they have a thickness of less than one millimetre for amaximum width of about two centimetres.

Such miniaturization obviously poses a problem of how to fasten a tag ofthe abovementioned type to the article that can be located and/oridentified by means of such a tag.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the invention is therefore to solve the problem posedand especially to propose a novel way of packaging an electronic devicehaving the characteristics of the abovementioned electronic tag, whichcan be easily fastened to an article, whatever the shape and purpose ofthe latter.

This objective is achieved by virtue of a substrate provided with atleast part of a system for the non-contact identification of articles,comprising at least one electronic device which includes anelectromagnetic-wave transmission and reception device coupled with anelectronic module making it possible to process received signals and toretransmit other signals, characterized in that it is based on cellulosefibers and in that the electronic device is inserted into the saidsubstrate.

The expression “inserted into the substrate” should be understood tomean here, and in the rest of the text, introduced into the substrate soas to be incorporated therein.

Thus, depending on the various shapes of the substrate based oncellulose fibers, the electronic device may, within the scope of theinvention, either be embedded in the substrate, that is to say heldwithin its thickness, or be inserted inside it.

Apart from the fact that the solution according to the invention solvesthe problem posed perfectly, it extremely advantageously provides asubstrate which can be entirely and easily recycled.

Moreover, the electromagnetic waves transmitted and received by theelectronic device are in no way disturbed by the substrate according tothe invention, whatever their operating frequency range.

The combination of the electronic device and of the cellulose substrateaccording to the invention may constitute in itself both a product and away of packaging the electronic device. Owing to the nature of thesubstrate, this may be easily incorporated, linked to any article thatit is desired to tag and/or locate.

This packaging may be regarded both as a means of carrying theelectronic device and of protecting the latter.

Advantageously, the electromagnetic-wave transmission and receptiondevice according to the invention furthermore comprises an antenna,preferably of the type including a coil.

Such a configuration allows great flexibility in the choice ofinterrogation station or frameway that can be used as data reader and asa transmitter for sending data to the electronic device according to theinvention.

Thus, depending on the given orientations of the coil in the latter, theinterrogation station may include a uniaxial, biaxial or triaxialinductor.

According to a first embodiment of the substrate according to theinvention, the cellulose fibers of the substrate are in the form of atleast one layer in which the electronic device is embedded.

Very advantageously, the specific volume of the layer is between 1 and10 cm³/g.

It should be pointed out that within the context of the invention, theterm “specific volume” should be understood to mean the ratio of thethickness of the layer to its grammage.

By falling within such a range, the electronic device is not onlyinserted into the layer according to the invention but, in addition, ismade invisible to the naked eye.

What is more, when it is completely embedded in the layer, that is tosay none of its faces emerges from the layer, the electronic deviceaccording to the invention is even better protected mechanically. Inother words, its durability is correspondingly increased.

According to this same embodiment, the layer may have several forms.Firstly, it may comprise at least one sheet of paper or of board.

It may also comprise a mat of moulded cellulose. Finally, it maycomprise a flat board having at least two sheets.

According to a second embodiment, the substrate according to theinvention comprises at least one solid board. This may comprise twosheets of paper pasted together and between which the electronic deviceis inserted. It may also comprise a sheet of cellulose fibers which iswound up on itself and inside which the said electronic device isinserted. This solid board may, for example, be rolled up in the form ofa tube.

According to a third, preferred embodiment, the substrate according tothe invention comprises at least one corrugated board having at leastone flute and at least one double-face liner, which are pasted togetherand between which the electronic device is inserted.

According to an additional characteristic, the substrate based oncellulose fibers has an overall stiffness of at least 5 mN.m.

This is because the stiffness is the degree of resistance offered by thesubstrate based on cellulose fibres when it is bent under specificconditions. In particular, when the substrate according to the inventionis in the form of a board, the stiffness is one of the importantcharacteristics as regards the use made of the said board.

Thus, giving the substrate based on cellulose fibres a minimum stiffnessas defined above amounts to guaranteeing, assuredly, the “physical”integrity of the electronic device when this same substrate is subjectedto particular stresses specific to the intended final application, whichstresses may, for example, be associated with stacking if the substrateaccording to the invention, made of board, is a package in the form of abox or a case.

The invention also relates to a package comprising a substrate asdefined above. This package may be parallelepipedal and/or have one ormore curved walls or be of any other shape substantially matching theshape of the packaged product.

In particular, it may be a package made of corrugated board obtainedaccording to the process described in French Patent Application FR97/05558 filed on May 6, 1997.

Finally, the subject of the invention is a process for obtaining asubstrate provided with at least part of a system for the non-contactidentification of articles, comprising at least one electronic devicewhich includes an electromagnetic-wave transmission and reception devicecoupled with an electronic module making it possible to process receivedsignals and to retransmit other signals, in which process the followingsteps are carried out concomitantly:

a) a substrate based on cellulose fibres is manufactured;

b) the said electronic device is inserted into the substrate.

Such a process is highly advantageous from the industrial standpointsince it requires no special industrial adaptation.

This is because the step of inserting the electronic device according tothe invention is carried out continuously and is entirely incorporatedinto existing processes for manufacturing substrates based on cellulosefibres, whether they are essentially in the form of paper or of board.

In order to carry out the insertion step, several methods ofimplementation may be envisaged depending on the final shape that it isdesired to give the substrate.

According to a first method of implementation, the insertion is carriedout in the wet end of a paper or board machine.

According to this same method of implementation, the insertion mayalternatively be envisaged.

in a liquid stock of cellulose fibres, in a zone in which the moisturecontent is between 80 and 95%;

during the marriage of two liquid plies of cellulose fibres, preferablyin a zone in which the moisture content is between 50 and 70%;

into a sheet of cellulose fibres when the latter is being wound up onitself, preferably in a zone in which the moisture content is between 5and 10%.

According to other methods of implementation, it is also possible toinsert the electronic device between two sheets so as to produce a“sandwich”.

Thus, the insertion between two sheets of paper may be carried outimmediately before they are pasted together, preferably in a zone inwhich the moisture content is between 5 and 10%.

In addition, when it is desired to obtain a corrugated board, theinsertion between a single-face ply having a flute and a double-faceliner may be carried out immediately before they are pasted together.

Finally, when it is desired to obtain a case made of corrugated board,the insertion between two sheets of corrugated board may be carried outin a zone in which two parts of a case tab are consolidated.

The invention is capable of numerous and varied applications. It may beused for tagging and/or locating articles such as books, clothes,records, food products, industrial products, electronic equipment, rollsor mandrels for supporting sheet, etc.

It may also be used for identifying goods and services, such as creditcards, telephone cards or tickets for road, sea or air transport.

It may also be used in techniques for detecting the counterfeiting ofarticles, more particularly luxury articles, such as clothes, etc.

Finally, it may be used in techniques for communicating, bytransmission, information contained in the electronic device accordingto the invention to display screens, for example for advertisingpurposes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further details and advantageous characteristics of the invention willemerge below on reading non-limiting illustrative examples, withreference to the figures which show:

FIG. 1: a sectional view of a packaging box made of moulded celluloseaccording to the invention;

FIGS. 2a, 2 b, 2 c: a general side view of an apparatus formanufacturing a flat board according to the invention, a side view ofpart of the same apparatus and a perspective view of a flat boardobtained using this apparatus;

FIGS. 3a, 3 b, 3 c: a general side view of part of an apparatus formanufacturing a double-face corrugated board according to the invention,a perspective view of this same board cut into a sheet and, finally, aperspective view of a packaging case made of corrugated board obtainedfrom this sheet;

FIG. 4: a sectional view of part of a packaging case made of corrugatedboard according to the invention;

FIG. 5: a sectional view of a tube made of solid board according to theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

First of all, it should be pointed out that, for the sake of clarity,the figures are extremely schematic and do not respect the relativeproportions between the various elements.

It should also be pointed out that the electronic device 4 of each ofthe figures, described in all the illustrative examples below,essentially has the same characteristics as the electronic tag describedin the aforementioned French Patent FR 2,741,978 and that its operationis similar to that described in the aforementioned French Patents FR2,741,979 and FR 2,741,980.

In particular, the integrated electromagnetic-wave transmission andreception device comprises an antenna which itself includes a coil.

Finally, it should be pointed out that this same electronic device 4 canbe in the form of a circular piece having a diameter of a fewmillimetres to a few centimetres and having a thickness of between 50and 550 micrometers.

Reference will firstly be made to FIG. 1. This is a sectional view of apackaging box 1 made of moulded cellulose, having a lid 2 and a bottom3.

This bottom 3 is intended to serve as wedging, for transporting variousand varied electronic appliances (portable telephones, etc.).

Embedded in the Lid 2 is an electronic device 4 which is therefore madeinvisible to the naked eye.

The function of this electronic device 4 is to locate and identifyelectronic equipment housed in the box 1 and contains a certain numberof information items, such as the total price, the date of manufactureand the reference numbers of these appliances.

In order to insert this electronic device 4 into the box 1, theprocedure is as follows:

a liquid stock is prepared in a conventional manner by suspending virginor recycled cellulose plant fibres in a liquid vehicle, preferably inthe form of water;

the said stock is poured into a mould of shape complementary to the box1 while allowing the liquid vehicle to flow away until the moisturecontent reaches 80 to 95%;

once this moisture content is reached, the electronic device 4 ispositioned in the stock;

finally, the assembly thus formed is pressed in a press, the said presshaving a shape matching that of the mould.

The force exerted by the press is set so that the specific volume of thecellulose mat is about 2 cm³/g.

Under these conditions, all the faces of the electronic device 4 arecovered with a thickness e of at least 50 micrometers of the matdescribed above.

Of course, this thickness e depends on the nature of the plant fibresused and on their final density once the package has dried, the densitybeing directly proportional to the force exerted by the press.

A person skilled in the art should adapt, as desired, these parametersaccording to the intended final application.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 2a, 2 b and 2 c relating to a flatboard according to the invention.

FIG. 2a is a general side view of part of an apparatus for manufacturinga flat board according to the invention.

The manufacturing apparatus 5 furthermore includes three autonomousdevices 6 (6 a, 6 b, 6 c) aligned one after the other.

The function of each of these autonomous devices 6 is to lay down aliquid ply formed from a stock of cellulose fibres, as will be describedbelow, on a conveyor support 7, called a pick-up felt, the direction ofmovement of which is indicated by the arrow f in FIG. 2a.

Downstream of these autonomous devices 6 and once the liquid plies havemutually interpenetrated, the conveyor support 7 passes through a set ofdewatering presses 8 which assembles the plies in a definitive mannerinto the form of sheets, which sheets in turn form the flat board 9.

Of course, in order to complete the manufacture of this flat board 9,the manufacturing apparatus 5 also includes, downstream, devices knownper se such as a press and a drying section.

Let us now return to the autonomous devices 6 for forming a Liquid ply.

FIG. 2b is a side view of the device 6 b.

This essentially comprises a cylinder mould 10 rotating in a tank 11surmounted by a base 12. This base 12 allows only a fraction 13 of thecylinder mould 10 to emerge.

As regards the tank 11, this communicates with a pipe 14 via which theliquid stock of cellulose fibres 15 arrives.

A press roll 16, called lift press, presses the conveyor support 7against the emergent fraction 13 of the cylinder mould 10.

Finally, a dispenser 17 for dispensing the electronic devices 4 isfastened to the base 12 in the immediate vicinity of the front part ofthe aforementioned fraction 13.

The operation of this apparatus is as follows: the rotating cylindermould 10 continuously takes up a uniform amount of the liquid stock 13of cellulose fibres in the form of a ply having a thickness proportionalto the speed of rotation of the cylinder mould 10.

The dispenser 17 deposits an electronic device 4 on this ply.

Upon contact with the press roll 16, the electronic device 4 is embeddedduring interpenetration of the ply with the conveyor support 7 belowwhich there is another liquid ply coming from the formation device 6 alocated upstream, in a zone in which the moisture content is between 50and 70%.

The frequency at which the dispenser deposits electronic devices 4 onthe cylinder mould 10 is defined according to the use and therefore, inaddition, according to the desired final dimensions of the flat board.

This deposition may be carried out, for example, at regular intervalsand its actuation may be slaved to a detector which detects the presenceof the electronic device 4 in the flat board. The detector ispositioned, for example, well downstream of the manufacturing apparatus5.

Be that as it may, all these controls are within the competence of aperson skilled in the art and it will be possible for him to make hischoices according to the desired properties, specific to the use of theflat-board product, such as the stiffness, printability andmachineability.

FIG. 2c shows a perspective view of an underground ticket 18 made offlat board 19 obtained using the apparatus that has just been described.

Compared with existing tickets, this no longer has a magnetic stripe andit is identified by means of the inserted electronic device 4.

FIG. 3a shows part of an apparatus for manufacturing a double-facecorrugated board.

In this manufacturing apparatus 20, a single-face liner 21, having agrammage of 150 g/cm², coming from a reel 22, passes around a preheatingcylinder 23 while being maintained under tension by the tensioning rolls24.

After having passed around an assembly roll 25, the liner is joined witha flute 26, having a grammage of 120 g/cm² and preheated by passingaround a preheating cylinder 27. It is then sized using a sizing device28. The single-face ply 29 thus formed is driven, inter alia, by a belt30 to a preheating cylinder 31 and then to a second sizing device 32before being joined with the double-face liner 33. This double-faceliner, having a grammage of 200 g/cm², coming from a reel 34 passesaround a preheating cylinder 35 and is then joined to the single-faceply 29.

An automatic device (not shown) positions an electronic device on thedouble-face liner 33 immediately before it is joined to the single-faceply 29.

The double-face ply 36 thus formed then passes between several heatingtables 37 located upstream of a tensioning belt 38 and an upper belt 39so as to exert sufficient pressure on the said ply 36 and to form adouble-face corrugated board 40.

FIG. 3b shows a sheet 41 cut from the double-face corrugated board 40obtained according to the foregoing process.

This sheet 41 is in turn prescored along the cutting lines shown bycontinuous Lines and is then folded, along the dotted lines, so as toobtain the packaging case 42 shown in FIG. 3c.

This packaging case is then ready for packaging various products whichcan be tagged and/or located using the inserted device 4.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of part of a packaging case 43 made ofcorrugated board, in accordance with the aforementioned case except thatthe electronic device 4 is inserted between two corrugated-board sheets44, 45, the ends 46, 47 of which constitute the two respective parts ofthe same tab of the case.

In order to carry out the insertion, a conversion machine of thefolder-gluer type known per se is used. Once the two ends 46, 47 havebeen folded, the electronic device is placed at their interface beforethe assembly is stapled so as to form the tab.

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a tube 49 made of solid board.

Here, the electronic device 4 is placed at the interface of two sheetsof paper 50, 51 which form the tube 49.

This tube 49 may serve as a mandrel for supporting reels of paper or aspackaging tubes for cylindrical containers of the bottle type.

In order to carry out the insertion, a first sheet of paper 50 is woundhere on a roll and then, while pasting a second sheet of paper 51 to thefirst sheet 50, the electronic device 4 is placed at their interface ina zone in which the moisture content of each of the two sheets 50, 51 isbetween 5 and 8%.

The pasting is carried out using an amylaceous paste. This may also be avinyl or a starch-based paste.

It should be noted that whatever the method of implementing theinvention described above, the insertion of the electronic device 4 iscarried out without special adaptation of the latter.

Furthermore, the device mechanically withstands the temperature,moisture and pressure conditions encountered in the variousmanufacturing apparatuses described.

Of course, various detail modifications may be made by a person skilledin the art without thereby departing from the scope of the invention,insofar as, once the electronic device has been inserted into thesubstrate based on cellulose fibres, its integrity and its reliabilityare guaranteed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A substrate including at least part of anelectronic device for non-contact identification of articles,comprising: at least one sheet of cellulosic fibers-based material,wherein the electronic device is inserted between two adjacent layers ofthe cellulosic fibers-based material without indenting the two layers ofthe cellulosic fibers-based material and without forming a cavitybetween the two layers of the cellulosic fibers-based material, and thesubstrate has an overall rigidity of at least 5 mN.m.
 2. A substrateaccording to claim 1, wherein the electronic device includes anelectromagnetic-wave transmission and reception device and an antenna.3. A substrate according to claim 1, wherein a volume of each of the twolayers is between 1 and 10 cm³/g.
 4. A substrate according to claim 1,wherein the at least one sheet comprises at least one sheet of paper orat least one sheet of board.
 5. A substrate according to claim 1,wherein the two layers each comprise a mat of molded cellulose.
 6. Asubstrate according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sheet comprisesa flat board having at least two sheets.
 7. A substrate according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one sheet comprises at least one solidboard having two sheets of paper pasted together and between which theelectronic device is inserted or a sheet of cellulosic fibers wound onitself and inside which the electronic device is inserted.
 8. Asubstrate according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sheet comprisesat least one corrugated board having at least one flute and at least onedouble-face liner, which are pasted together and between which theelectronic device is inserted.
 9. A package comprising a substrateaccording to claim
 1. 10. A process for forming a substrate including atleast part of an electronic device for non-contact identification ofarticles, comprising: forming at least one sheet of cellulosicfibers-based material, inserting the electronic device between twoadjacent layers of the cellulosic fibers-based material withoutindenting the two layers of the cellulosic fibers-based material andwithout forming a cavity between the two layers of the cellulosicfibers-based material, and the substrate to have an overall rigidity ofat least 5 mN.m.
 11. A process according to claim 10, wherein theinserting step is carried out in a wet end of a paper or board machine.12. A process according to claim 11, wherein the inserting step iscarried out when a predetermined moisture content of the at least onesheet is between 80 and 95%.
 13. A process according to claim 11,wherein the inserting step is carried out during a marriage of twoliquid plies of cellulosic fibers, when a predetermined moisture contentis between 50 and 70%.
 14. A process according to claim 10, wherein theinserting step is carried out when the cellulosic fibers are being woundup on themselves, and the predetermined moisture content is between 5and 10%.
 15. A process according to claim 10, wherein the inserting stepis carried out between two sheets of paper immediately before they arepasted together, when the predetermined moisture content is between 5and 10%.
 16. A process according to claim 10, wherein the inserting stepis carried out between a single-face ply having a flute and adouble-face liner immediately before they are pasted together.
 17. Aprocess according to claim 10, wherein the inserting step is carried outbetween two sheets of corrugated board in a zone in which two parts of acase tab are consolidated.